Truck.



J. A. HICKEY.

TRUOK.

v APPLICATION FILED JAN. 15, 1912. 1,038,137, Patented Sept. 10,1912.

FIEL 1 FIB. E'l FIB 41 WITNESSES- INVENTOR.

A TTORNEY S,

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO., WASHINGTON. D. C.

JAMES A. HIGKEY, OF NORTH HADLEY, MASSACHUSETTS.

TRUCK.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented Sept. 10, 1912.

Application filed January 15, i912. Serial No. 671,224.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES A. HICKEY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at North Hadley, in the county of Hampshire and State of Massachusetts,

front of a basket dragged along in this manner and increases the resistance which has to be overcome and which is considerable even in the case of a loaded basket on level ground, moreover, more or less of the earth sifts in through the interstices in the basket among the leaves to the detriment of the latter, and the object of my invention is to provide a strong and durable but comparatively light truck upon which such a basket can be securely and safely mounted and easily transported over either hard or soft ground, and by the use of which both time and labor are economized and the leaves of tobacco are kept clean.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

I attain these objects by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan of a truck which embodies a practical form of my invention; Fig. 2, a side elevation of such truck with a basket thereon; Fig. 3, an end elevation of said truck, and, Fig. i, a crosssection through the truck, taken on lines 4.4c, looking in the direction of the associated arrow, in Fig. 1, the basket which like the truck is in section being shown also in this view.

Similar figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Preferably the frame. of my truck consists, as represented in the drawings, of two side pieces 1, which may be made of angle irons, two end pieces 2 which are rigidly attached to said side pieces some distance in from the extreme outer ends of the side pieces, and two, more or less, intermediate cross pieces 3 which are also rigidly attached to the side pieces. The cross pieces 3 are so attached to the side pieces 1 that the parts of the former that extend between the side pieces are below the level of the upper surfaces of said side pieces, for reasons which will presently appear. Thus it is seen that a rectangular frame having projecting ends and intermediate drop support-s is formed. Two pairs of uprights which form abutments 5 rise from the side pieces 1, the abutments in each pair being adjacent to the ends of one of the end pieces 2. An aXle 6 is j ournaled at each end of the frame in the parts of the side pieces 1 that extend beyond each end piece 2, and a pair of wheels 7 is mounted on such axle, said wheels being inside of said side pieces. Thus constructed the truck is of ample width without having any lateral projections either to interfere with the plants in the rows or to be interfered with by such plants. In other words, the truck is so constructed that it can be drawn between the rows of plants without difficulty.

In order to avoid sinking into the earth and to prevent them from picking up the earth, when the latter is soft, the wheels 7 are made quite wide and without flanges. Preferably said wheels are of the hollow or box type for the sake of lightness. Furthermore, earth is prevented. from collecting or remaining on the peripheries of the wheels 7 by the end pieces 2, since said wheels and, end pieces are relatively positioned so that the inner ends of the horizontal diameters of the wheels and the end pieces are quite close to each other. The end pieces, therefore, serve as scrapers or cleaners for the wheels, as well as in their ordinary capacity of frame elements, and are important factors for this reason. The truck is intended to be propelled from either end and in either direction, and to facilitate this eye-bolts 8-8 are fastened to the axle 6, such eye-bolts being for the attachment of the rope or handle with which said truck is drawn forward.

A basket, such as is commonly employed for gathering the leaves, is represented at 9, in Figs. 2 and t. On the bottom of this basket are two permanently attached skids or runners 10 which extend lengthwise of the basket. The truck frame is so proportioned that the distance between the inside faces of the side pieces 1 is approximately equal to the distance between the outside faces of the runners 10, the drop of the cross pieces 3 is approximately equal to the depth of said runners, and the end pieces 2 are separated far enough so as not to interfere with the ends of said runners. Thus it will be seen that, when the ments 5, and against lateral movement by the side pieces 1 and the runners 10, and is in this manner and by these means very securely mounted and can be wheeled about safely and without fear that it will fall off. On the other hand, the basket when loaded can be easily removed from the truck by simply raising it until the runners are clear of the side pieces, and then carrying it sidewise from between the abutments.

In practice, the basket is placed on the truck and the latter is drawn to the field and in between the rows of plants, the leaves are picked and laid in the basket, the truck being drawn ahead as required, and

. when the basket is full the truck is drawn truck.

along on the ground.

out of the field and the full basket replaced with an empty one, this procedure being repeated as often as necessary. Several baskets are generally used with a single As hereinbefore intimated, the basket is conveyed between the rows on this truck without damaging the plants or picking up dirt, and the work is very much easier than when the basket is dragged The wheels 7 are small and having their axes in the side pieces 1 as they do, which side pieces are straight, the truck frame is carried quite close to the ground. It would not be practicable to employ a high truck with a basket thereon because the latter would be liable to injure the unplucked leaves as the truck was moved along.

Since most of the weight of the loaded basket comes on the runners 10 which rest on the cross pieces 3, and but little of said weight is directly supported by the basket on the side pieces 1, the wearing qualities of the basket are economized and the life of the basket prolonged.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a truck, a frame comprising parallel side pieces, end pieces connecting said side pieces at points somewhat remote from the ends of the side pieces, and a cross piece attached to said side pieces between the ends and below the upper surfaces of the latter, axles journaled in the projecting terminals of the side pieces beyond said end pieces, and wheels mounted on said axles within said projecting terminals.

A basket-carrying truck comprising a frame made up of side pieces, end pieces connecting said side pieces at points somewhat remote from the ends of the side pieces, and a cross piece attached to said side pieces between the ends and below the upper surfaces of the latter, abut-ments rising from said side pieces for the ends of a basket, and wheels upon which said frame is mounted.

3. In a truck, a frame comprising side pieces and end pieces connect-ing said side pieces at points somewhat remote from the ends of the side pieces, such end pieces serving as cleaners for wheels, and wheels upon which the projecting parts of said side pieces are directly mounted, such wheels being located adjacent to said end pieces so as to enable them to be cleaned thereby.

4. A basket-carrying truck consisting of a frame mounted on wheels and provided with means to support the bottom of a basket and hold the same against lateral movement, the supporting means in part being below the upper surface of said frame, and further provided with means above said upper surface of the frame to hold the basket against endwise movement.

5. In a truck designed to carry a basket provided with bottom runners, a frame comprising side pieces, end pieces connecting said side pieces at points somewhat remote from the ends of the side pieces, and an intermediate cross piece attached to said side pieces and situated below the upper surfaces of the same, such cross piece being adapted to receive the basket runners while the side pieces receive the basket bottom, abutments on said side pieces for the ends of the basket, and wheels upon which said frame is mounted.

JAMES A. HICKEY.

Witnesses:

G. A. ANGIER, A. C. FAIRBANKS.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

